GIANTS NOTEBOOK / Hard-luck McMains lighting up Giants' camp

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, March 8, 2006

2006-03-08 04:00:00 PDT Scottsdale, Ariz. -- The 7,774 people who saw the kid hit a ninth-inning home run for the Giants five days ago no doubt forgot it by the time they sat down for dinner, and only a Baseball America fetishist would have known who No. 88 was.

It was Derin McMains, a 26-year-old second baseman who is turning heads in camp. He certainly grabbed Trevor Hoffman's attention Tuesday with his second homer of the spring, a three-run blast off the Padres' closer in a 12-3 Giants victory at Peoria, Ariz.

After McMains hit the first homer against Milwaukee on Friday, he said, "It felt like 1,000 pounds lifted off my shoulder," and it's funny he used that cliche given what really happened to his shoulder, and wrist, on a 2004 day he never will forget.

After batting .271 for Double-A Norwich, Conn., McMains flew to the Bay Area for what was supposed to be two simple operations, arthroscopies on his wrist and shoulder. But there was nothing simple about that day, as hand specialists Dr. Gordon Brody and Giants orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki discovered serious damage at both ends of the arm.

"It was like a wrestling match," McMains said. "Dr. Brody operated on my wrist. He tagged Dr. Akizuki and he came in and repaired my shoulder. I was under for five hours."

The procedures were supposed to be so in-and-out McMains had reservations for a flight home to Arkansas that night. The clinic had no beds for overnight patients. In fact, he said, "The nurses were pacing, wanting to lock up. They didn't even wheel me out to the car. Stan (Conte) picked me up and threw me into the car."

McMains recalled coming out of anesthesia and hearing Conte tell him how messed up his shoulder and wrist were. Said McMains: "If I hadn't been so drugged up, I would have been upset."

McMains had a third surgery on his wrist last season and was limited to 22 games for Single-A San Jose. Now, he is healthy and thrilled to be in his first big-league camp. During last week's "Giants Idol" competition, he donned toupees on his head and chest as he mimicked James Brown singing, "I Feel Good."

The switch-hitter is headed for a sixth minor-league season, but his hitting and sharp second-base play have caught the eye of manager Felipe Alou, who said even before the homer against Hoffman, "He looks like bad news. He's a real tough cookie."

Puckett memories: First baseman Lance Niekro fondly recalled cavorting with the late Kirby Puckett in the outfield of the Metrodome in 1987 and 1988, when his father, Joe, played for the Twins.

"He became my favorite player," Niekro said. "He treated us excellent. He couldn't talk to me man-to-man. I was only 7 years old. He took me into the outfield, put me on his shoulder and let me try to rob home runs like he did.

The game: Matt Cain pitched three solid innings in his second start, holding the Padres to one run, allowing two hits and striking out three. Abraham Nuñez, a nonroster outfielder, went 4-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. Angel Chavez, a natural shortstop getting a look at third base, went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Second-base prospect Kevin Frandsen hit his first homer of the spring.